Disney matriarch passes at 77

Former wife of Walt Disney's nephew was known for her philanthropy.

Patricia A. Disney — matriarch of a family whose $10-million donation was the foundation of a comprehensive cancer center at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center — has died. She was 77.

Married to Roy, Walt Disney's nephew, for more than 50 years, the couple divorced in 2007. She died Friday of Alzheimer’s disease surrounded by family members at her home in Toluca Lake, according to announcements from the hospital and the family.

The couple donated the $10 million in seed money for the Roy and Patricia Disney Family Cancer Center, the first comprehensive cancer treatment facility in the San Fernando Valley, which opened in 2010.

Born on Jan. 11, 1935, in New Orleans, she moved to Toluca Lake when she was 6. Before marrying Roy, the only child of Walt's brother, Roy O. Disney, she worked for a time in New York in advertising.

But it was philanthropic work for which she was best known, as well as forgoing flash and luxury despite her family’s considerable wealth.

In a statement, Robert Iger, chief executive of the Walt Disney Co., said she was known for her “kindness, outgoing nature, and especially for her philanthropy.”

Patricia’s memory will live on via the modern $36-million four-story outpatient center that bears her and her late husband’s name, officials said.

“She and her family have left our community a tremendous gift, a cancer center that provides compassionate care to patients at their most vulnerable,” Barry Wolfman, chief executive of Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, said in a statement.